Program Director, Urban Water Strategy & Melbourne System Strategy

City West Water, Melbourne Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water are four government agencies responsible for the provision of water and sewerage services to the Melbourne area.

Every five years Victoria’s water corporations are required to develop Urban Water Strategies (UWS) and Melbourne Water must formulate a Melbourne System Strategy (MSS). These strategies are to include plans for securing water supplies over the next 50 years, and specific actions for the next 5 years.

The consortia are looking to appoint a Program Director to lead these strategies on a fixed term two-year engagement. The appointed Program Director will work on behalf of City West Water, Melbourne Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water to deliver a joint Urban Water and Melbourne System Strategy by March 2022.

Role Scope

The Program Director, Urban Water Strategy and Melbourne System Strategy will report to a steering committee of general managers from all of the water corporations to provide advice and recommendations to the Managing Directors and Executive teams. You will develop a plan and budget for delivering a strategy that meets broad stakeholders needs to a timeline and budget. This will be achieved by effectively engaging appropriate resources, coordinating input from internal subject matter experts and engaging relevant government stakeholders.

Key Accountabilities

• Project management and coordination of a strategy that meets various stakeholder needs on time and on budget over a 2-year period
• Engage appropriate resources and coordinate input from subject matter experts to deliver components of the strategy including economic evaluation, customer research and engagement, water use and supply and demand assessments and communications and stakeholder engagement.
• Facilitate active participation and engagement of staff from across the four Victorian water corporations (City West Water, Melbourne Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water) and liaise with counterparts at Barwon Water and Western Water to share insights and enable consolidated thinking.
• Work closely with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) on the Central and Gippsland Regions Sustainable Water Strategy (SWS) and facilitate alignment and collaboration between the water sector and the SWS including:
  • stakeholder and community engagement
  • demand and supply modelling input and analysis
  • final recommendations, strategy and deliverables
• Lead and manage key stakeholder engagement across the industry, specifically Minister for Water Office, DELWP, Energy & Water Ombudsman, Councils, other Government Departments, contractors and customers.
• Facilitate and adhere to corporate governance through sound reporting and recommendations to the steering committee and Managing Directors. This encompasses the development of strategy and policy; major planning, project, and operational decisions; and the development of employees and organisational capacity.
• Promote and drive a strong safety culture by maintaining a healthy and safe work environment.
• Create an environment that empowers all employees to take ownership of their work and encourage cross-group collaboration and innovative
•  Ensure compliance and regulatory requirements are met across health and safety; environment; governance; ethics and conduct; risk management; finance; asset management; customer service and human services.
• Contribute to the achievement of the Victorian water corporations’ corporate objectives by aligning to divisional plans, key performance indicators, budgets, forecasts and business cases.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Hold relevant Business, Science, Communications or Engineering qualifications and/or industry knowledge
• An understanding of relevant regulatory and policy requirements is critical.
• Highly developed strategic and analytical skills with demonstrated capacity to successfully manage broad responsibilities and complex issues at senior organisational levels.
• Sound knowledge and experience operating within a government environment.
• Robust influencing and negotiating skills including outstanding management, communication, stakeholder management, strategic planning and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated skills in stakeholder engagement, leadership and people management
• In-depth knowledge of government policies and best practice with a proven ability to achieve results in commercial, community and partnership contexts.
• Sound knowledge in policy analysis, strategy development and resource planning
• An understanding of how to align government, business and community expectations

On Offer

An opportunity to shape the future water management strategy for the city of Melbourne over the next 50 years. The position comes with an executive package on a fixed-term 2-year contract.

Next Steps

To learn more about this opportunity, or to obtain a copy of the Position Description and Briefing Pack, please contact our recruitment partners, Resourceful Pro.

Matthew Woodall on 0413 659 497 matthew@resourcefulpro.com.au
Melanie Smith on 0402 660356 melanie@resourcefulpro.com.au

Applications should contain a cover letter and CV and emailed directly to: info@resourcefulpro.com.au

Please be aware the deadline for applications is close of business Monday 10th August

All inquiries and applications will be treated in strict confidence.